Objective: Sarcopenia, fatigue, and depression are associated with higher mortality rates and adverse outcomes in the aging population. Understanding the association among clinical variables, mainly symptoms, is important for screening and appropriately managing these conditions. The aim of this article is to evaluate the association among sarcopenia and its elements with depression and fatigue. Method: We used cross-sectional data from 2012 SABE (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento)-Bogotá study, which included 2,000 participants of ages ≥60 years. Sarcopenia and its elements were taken as the dependent variable, while fatigue and depression were the main independent variables. We tested the association among these through multiple logistic regression models, which were fitted for each dependent variable and adjusted for confounding variables. Results: Our findings showed that gait speed was associated with fatigue (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.05, 1.90], p = .02) as well as abnormal handgrip strength (adjusted OR = 1.40, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.93], p = .04). No other associations were significant. Conclusion: While sarcopenia and fatigue are not associated, two of the sarcopenia-defining variables are associated with fatigue; this suggests that lack of sarcopenia does not exclude undesirable outcomes related to fatigue in aging adults. Also, the lack of association between sarcopenia-defining elements and depression demonstrates that depression and fatigue are different concepts.
La disfagia sarcopénica es la dificultad deglutoria asociada con la pérdida de masa, fuerza y función muscular generalizada. Su prevalencia aumenta en pacientes ancianos, así como en aquellos con malnutrición o con desuso de la musculatura deglutoria. Está relacionada con desenlaces adversos, como lo son la neumonía aspirativa, la acumulación de residuos en la cavidad orofaríngea luego de la deglución, la peor calidad de vida y los tiempos de estancia hospitalaria prolongados. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura disponible sobre el tema con el fin de proveer una guía para la detección temprana y el manejo de esta entidad clínica, necesarios para una adecuada práctica clínica.
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